Mistake: The Fallen Guardian
by Starfire201
Summary: Oneshot. One single action can result in a myriad of consequences. Can such a mistake ever be fixed? From a little known Guardian's POV, Archieverse.


**AN: **I have seen many Archieverse stories concerning the Brotherhood in Haven, and a few with the Guardians prior to Hawking, along with many involving Dimitri, Moritori Rex, and the Dark Legion. Yet, I have never seen one concerning the Guardian Moritori Rex replaced: Tobor. This story is from his POV and is prior to KtE #17. As I was unable to find much on his personality, and it has been a while since I have read the few issues with him in it, I do hope I was able to capture his personality successfully.

**Disclaimer**: Writes for fun, not money. Definitely do not own anything outside this story.

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Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied. – Pearl Buck (1892 – 1973)

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**Mistake: The Fallen Guardian**

First thing each morning I go for a walk. As I walk, inevitably my thoughts move towards the past and the grievous error I once made.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tobor, and I was once a Guardian of the Floating Island. I was raised to follow in my father's footsteps of being a caretaker of the Island and its' inhabitants along being a protector of the Chaos Emerald. One day, to prevent a catastrophe caused by the dingoes, my father transported the city we lived in, Echidnaopolis, as well as the other inhabitants of the Island, to various pocket zones. Shortly afterwards, he went to examine the Island to see just how extensive the damage was, and left me in charge of the city. He presented this honor in front of my wife, Voni-Ca, and my son, Spectre.

That day changed my life forever.

At first, all was well. No serious situations arose for the first few days following his departure, and I believed that I would pass my first true test as Guardian. How little I knew. Within one week of Father's departure, the Dark Legion attacked, led by Grandmaster Moritori Rex.

I knew of the Legion through the history my father taught me, how they tried to force their view of extreme technology on the people, and barely failed due to the actions of my ancestor Steppenwolf. They appeared periodically to make further attempts, once even allying themselves with Overlanders. Now they had returned once more, and my test suddenly became far greater then I would ever have anticipated.

The people, even with simple farm equipment, fought valiantly. I cannot even begin to describe just how proud I was of their defense of their homes. Before long, I was face to face with the Grandmaster himself.

No description can do justice to our battle. We were fighting not just over control of the Island, but over the souls of the inhabitants. Soon I had him on the ropes, or so I thought. He then revealed he had one last trick, a teleporter. Without a word, he transported us into the middle of ruins which immediately proved to be unstable. Before our fight could continue, the building collapsed.

Rage and bitterness consume me whenever I think about the events that followed. I never knew how my father discovered our location, but when he came to rescue me, he dug out the wrong Echidna. Rex did have my coloring, but that was all. Already in horrific pain from my injuries, seeing my father rescue the wrong person tore me up inside like nothing else. Feeling abandoned, and burdened with a feeling of failure, I made the decision to leave the Island. I had failed my ancestors and my people, and did not deserve the title of Guardian.

That choice is my greatest shame. My feelings of abandonment by my own father cut deep, causing me great anger and grief, yet I failed to realize for some time I was doing the same thing to Voni-Ca and Spectre. The reality did not sink in for several weeks, when the doctor who was treating my injuries from the battle told me that the surgery he performed on my eyes only slowed down my eventual blindness, not prevented it. The damage was just too extensive. It hit me then that I may never see my family again, either literally or figuratively. I fell into despair and soon after left the clinic, beginning my journey as a vagabond. Long days and nights followed, alternating between crying and cursing my very existence as well as my father. The implants I received a century later gave me no joy, as I felt that my wife was long dead by then, and I had never seen her again, not even to say goodbye. The most torturous part of that is never knowing if she ever knew about the imposter. Even worse is the fact that Spectre will never forgive me should he ever discover the truth. That is, if he still lives. Lack of certain knowledge haunts me constantly. What happened to Voni-Ca? Is Spectre alive? Does my bloodline still exist on the Island or did Rex wipe it out? What damage has he caused in my name? All questions I ask myself constantly as I wander the Mobian surface. Questions I may never know the answers to.

I cannot describe rationally how I feel about Rex. He stole my family, my position, and my life from me. Everything in me wants to tear him apart, and if I ever see him again that is exactly what I will do. I know he must gloat over his actions and I swear by Aurora herself that if my family was destroyed by him, my suffering will never compare to his.

My bitterest feelings are not aimed towards my father. Not even at Rex, surprisingly enough. No, they are towards myself and arise from the knowledge that I had one chance to prevent any damage Rex could do to my family. After digging myself out of that rubble, I could have returned to Echidnapolis, and made an attempt to prove my identity. Yes, the possibility existed that no one would believe me, but the ring on my chest would cause questions surrounding the one that my father took to the hospital to arise. However, I did not choose that path. Instead, I gave in to my feelings of failure and ran away, leaving my wife and son in the hands of a Dark Legionnaire. Worse, I left the door open to the possibility of my line being destroyed or discredited. Even going back now cannot undo the damage caused by my mistake. The only door open to me now is revenge on Rex and his children for their actions.

Yet vengeful emotions are warring with other emotions within me: agony, longing and hope. I agonize constantly over what Rex must be doing, knowing for certain he has eliminated any image of me should questions of identity ever arise. Feelings of longing often torment me with the desire to see my son again. My son and his descendants, whom I often hope still live and Rex did not end my bloodline with Spectre through some "accident".

Until the day comes where I can exact my revenge, however, all I can do is go for my daily walk and ponder over the past, as I have done each day for two centuries. Ponder over my one disastrous mistake, my running away.

Will I ever have the chance to rectify it?

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**AN:** I always thought of all the Guardians, Tobor was the most tragic. Hope whoever read this enjoyed.


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